when we were planning our trip to Venice last year, I got the best tip from this board regarding the Secret Itinerary tour of Doge's Palace. Are there any other insider's secrets to Paris attractions I should be aware of? I will be travelling with my two pre-teens

Les Egouts de Paris (the sewers) amd their museum.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

This is an out of the way place, you will perhaps not see many tourists, the Butte aux Cailles..in the 13th-some nice not expensive restaurants,lots of charm..the village of Belleville in the 12th-you can look down on Paris from the hill ..the Jardin d'Acclimation in the Bois de Boulogne..park,zoo, shooting galleries, the kids might like that.the Cite des SCiences et de l"Industrie, full of rockets,space exhibits and a planetarium..

I am intrigued, Rex. Can you tell me more about the Paris sewer tour? What is there to see? I haven't seen this in my guide book.

The Sewers of Paris~by the Quai d'Orsay<BR>The Catacombs in Montparnasse..

Les Egouts de Paris entrance opposite 93 quai d'Orsay, by Pont de l'Alma, 7th (01.53.68.27.81) <BR><BR>Mº Alma-Marceau/ RER Pont de l'Alma. Open May-Sept 11am-5pm, Sat-Wed; Oct-Apr 11am-4pm Sat-Wed. Closed three weeks in Jan. Admission 25F/€3.81; 15F/€2.29 5-12s, over 60s; free under 5s, CM. <BR><BR>This is your chance to see what other people get up to in the bathroom. For centuries the main source of drinking water in Paris was the Seine, which was also the main sewer. Thankfully, construction of an underground sewerage system began in 1825. Today, the Egouts de Paris is perhaps the smelliest museum in the world; each sewer in the 2,100km system is marked with a replica of the street sign above. <BR><BR>For a personal (and far more detailed) re-telling of a visit there, see www.afu.com/sewer/sewer.html or www.paris.org/Kiosque/mar97/egouts.html<BR>

topping, for Ann...<BR>

The artisan's row under an old viaduct near the Gare de Lyon is very interesting. Several blocks of shops and craftsmen under the viaduct, therefore large arching windows. It is the Av. Daumesnil (I think that is the spelling). There is a garden walk along the top of the viaduct.